ROTTERS go Team Racing
Published 20:51 on 25 Sep 2026
Three teams of ROTTERS took on the NEYYSA team racing at Ripon over the weekend of 19th & 20th September. The event is sailed in RS Fevas, with 2 boats in each team, and the aim is to use rules and tactics as well as boat speed to ensure that one of your opponents boats finishes in last place, giving your team a winning score. The races are short, at about 5-10mins each, and are sailed on an S-shaped course with up to 3 races in progress on the same course at one time.
The forecast for Saturday was quite breezy with high gust speeds, though some of the ROTTERS appeared more bothered by the early start time than by the wind speeds. With registration complete and the all important team racing hats collected it was the Reds up first. As they were sailing in Race 3 they were in the second group of boats to launch, while the Blues, sailing in Race 8, headed off to the changeover point to wait for their ferry out to the race course.
From the very first race of the day it was clear that the conditions were going to test all the teams, with some big gusts and even bigger shifts coming across the course. The finish boat was set just off the race box, which made for some fantastic viewing for the spectators but meant that teams were frequently caught out almost on the line by gusts coming out of the narrows. Capsizes were fairly frequent, so plenty of people were found asking the onshore coaches for a quick refresher on the scoring implications of a capsize and several teams found that in the biggest gusts, just surviving could be enough to guarantee a win.
Only 4 of the 13 Ripon sailors had ever team raced before, so it was no surprise at the end of Saturday's racing to find that although the Reds had made it into the Silver fleet both the Blues and Whites would be in the Bronze fleet on Sunday. Sunday also meant a change of crew for Oscar T in the Reds as William S and Frankie N were taking advantage of the U11 rules to share crewing duties as well as sharing the title of youngest sailors at the event.
Sunday started out noticeably less windy than Saturday, and the Whites took full advantage claiming two early wins. Unfortunately the second win was over the Blues, who then bounced back to take a win of their own, while in the Silver fleet the Reds had also followed up an early loss with a win. Before long the wind started to pick up again, although the gusts never reached the same level as they had the day before.
Despite showing some excellent boat speed the Reds didn't always have the tactics to match their opponents and found the racing got harder as the day went on. The Whites showed some great decision making in their next race, with Katie deciding to tack round at the gybe mark once the opposition had capsized as there was no need to risk gybing in a gust. The Blues kept alternating between losses and wins with their final victory being decided in a mass capsize on the finish line.
Only the Whites made it into the final prizes, finishing 3rd in the Bronze fleet with four wins, although Oscar T also got a personal shout out for doing such a great job of looking after his tiny crews. However all the Ripon sailors should be very proud of themselves for how they sailed, and particularly for how they supported each other during the racing.
Last updated 20:51 on 25 September 2026